Illinois Traffic Crash Reports are made by the police when a vehicle is involved in a collision (See an example Illinois Traffic Crash Report here). They are used for vehicle crashes, vehicle collisions with a pedestrian, and vehicle collisions with a bicyclist. If police are called to the scene of…
When a Plaintiff settles his personal injury claim, he may also have one or more liens against the amount of the recovery. Healthcare liens against a settlement may be asserted by the medical providers who have treated and rehabilitated the Plaintiff after suffering an injury. These liens are covered by…
An uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) claim often arises after a car accident. If the person at-fault for the accident flees the scene and is unable to be located, or if the person at-fault does not have insurance or has inadequate insurance, an uninsured/underinsured claim (sometimes called, “UM/UIM”) should be brought immediately. UM/UIM…
The biggest distinction between filing a lawsuit against an individual for a car accident and filing an uninsured/underinsured motorist claim (UM/UIM claim) against an insurance carrier is that the latter will be sent to arbitration for adjudication. Illinois law requires insurance companies to include arbitration clauses in all insurance contracts…
A setoff is a defense to a legal judgment for damages. A setoff can be either partial or total. When an insured party is making a claim against their insurance company for an Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist claim (UM/UIM claim) for an auto accident, bike accident, or pedestrian accident, the amount awarded…
The decision in Nicholson v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. is a win for automobile insurance policyholders in Illinois. It also imposes a new obligation on insurance carriers to obtain a signed coverage election form before binding coverage, when the insured makes a “material change” in the policy. The Illinois…